City moves to shut down 17 companies in party bus crackdown

Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune

Members of the Chicago Fire Department work the scene of a triple shooting that took place on a party bus on the Irving Park Road viaduct of Lake Shore Drive on Dec. 18, 2016, in Chicago. Three men wounded, including the suspected shooter.

Members of the Chicago Fire Department work the scene of a triple shooting that took place on a party bus on the Irving Park Road viaduct of Lake Shore Drive on Dec. 18, 2016, in Chicago. Three men wounded, including the suspected shooter.

Authorities have moved to shut down 17 bus companies for violating a new city ordinance aimed at ending violence stemming from illegal party bus activity.

Chicago Police partnered with the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection last week for a three-day field investigation to identify companies lacking proper licenses, vehicle signs, security cameras and guards.

Under the ordinance passed in April, party buses must have a licensed security guard on board if there are more than 15 passengers and if there is alcohol on the bus or the bus plans to make "interim stops" at bars, clubs or other places where alcohol would be consumed.

Bus owners are also required to take "affirmative steps" to ensure passengers aren't illegally carrying firearms or drugs.

"We can point to a number of incidents where the lack of proper measures on party buses led to violent crimes — sometimes on the bus, sometimes off the bus," said Anthony Riccio, head of the Chicago Police Department's Organized Crime Unit during a Monday news conference.

In the past two years, 11 shootings, including three homicides, have been connected to party buses, police have said.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel told reporters this week he wanted to "push the envelope" on setting rules to make it tough for revelers to bring guns onto party buses in Chicago, but a plan he announced Tuesday stops short of outlawing firearms.

Emanuel acknowledged it would be difficult to ban legal guns...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel told reporters this week he wanted to "push the envelope" on setting rules to make it tough for revelers to bring guns onto party buses in Chicago, but a plan he announced Tuesday stops short of outlawing firearms.

Emanuel acknowledged it would be difficult to ban legal guns...

(John Byrne)

"We saw a lot of alcohol being consumed; we've seen gangs actually charter some of these buses and take them to different locations," Riccio said. "We do see a lot of problems and violence that stems from the fact that they were completely unregulated."

There are about 340 licensed charter bus companies in the city, according to business affairs Commissioner Rosa Escareno.

"I can't begin to tell you how many may be operating illegally," she said at the press conference."If we observe any activity online and believe that there is an indication that we can actually identify an operator, we're gonna go after them."

Party buses operating illegally will be subject to minimum fines of $1,000 for a first-time violation and $5,000 for subsequent violations. Ignoring a cease and desist order carries a minimum $5,000 fine.

"You have to do your due diligence when booking your event and make sure that you're working with licensed operators," Escareno said. "When somebody is not properly licensed, you can lose your money."